| Hiking Trail Conditions Report |
 | Peaks |
Mt. Isolation, NH |
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 | Trails: |
Rocky Branch Trail, bushwhacks, Isolation Trail, Davis Path, Isolation Spur |
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 | Date of Hike: |
Saturday, April 13, 2019 |
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 | Parking/Access Road Notes: |
Parking lot. Easy peasy. |
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 | Surface Conditions: |
Snow - Packed Powder/Loose Granular, Snow - Wet/Sticky, Snow - Spring Snow |
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 | Recommended Equipment: |
Snowshoes |
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 | Water Crossing Notes: |
Momma the creeks arisin'! Snow bridges 50/50 and _not_ trustworthy. Caution. As of 4/13 all of the crossings were still doable in snowshoes with or without a bridge. However we did notice that water levels were higher on the way down than on the way up, so some of the the big crossings will be a challenge Real Soon Now. |
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 | Trail Maintenance Notes: |
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 | Dog-Related Notes: |
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 | Bugs: |
Saw a spider |
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 | Lost and Found: |
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 | Comments: |
Snowshoes mandatory. You won't make it 5 feet out of the parking lot in spikes and a passing skier is likely to skewer you with their pole like a toothpick through a club sandwich.
Overall trail conditions still firm, though not a real monorail except at the beginning. You'll posthole near big rocks and water especially in the middle sections, but mostly it's still ok if you tread softly.
The trail is _really_ tough to follow past half a mile in. I blew past the left fork on Rocky Branch Trail at roughly 1.75 miles in and continued straight up to whatever unnamed (AFAIK) rise overlooks the Engine Hill bushwhack. By the time I discovered my folly I was close to the top so I figured I'd just bag that summit (3622 from the map, yipee) and then whack down to the Engine Hill path. Dogged persistence or rank stupidity: it's a fine line. BW in soft 6 feet of soft spring snow. If you like full body postholes, spruce traps, and thigh deep slogs through oatmeal, then that whack's for you. Otherwise just take the left fork onto Rocky Branch (note I met up with others who did exactly the same thing as me so apparently it's an easy miss).
The final miles on Davis Path are essentially a bushwhack too. You're standing on 6+ feet of snow so you're fighting through branches at the tops trees. I put my goggles on. It was t-shirt weather so arms look like I lost a fight with a threshing machine; thank heavens I didn't ruin a good jacket.
The middle sections are by far in the worst state stability wise. Looks like the freeze/thaw cycles are more like thaw/thaw now, so conditions will not improve. Spring sucks, I know.
Pretty summit though. |
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 | Name: |
Muench |
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 | E-Mail: |
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| Date Submitted: |
2019-04-14 |
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 | Link: |
 https:// |
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Disclaimer: Reports are not verified - conditions may vary. Use at own risk. Always be prepared when hiking. Observe all signs. Trail conditions reports are not substitutes for weather reports or common sense. |
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